NEW YORK, March 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- GreenWave Advisors, LLC an independent financial research and advisory firm serving the burgeoning cannabis industry has released "Behind the Numbers: 2015 U.S. Retail Marijuana Sales," an unparalleled comprehensive and transparent state by state analysis of the legal marijuana market.

The firm reiterates its prior estimates, that total retail sales increased 40% to $4.8 billion from $3.4 billion in 2014 and expects revenues to reach $6.3 billion in 2016 and $25 billion by 2020. Separately, the firm maintains its expectation that if marijuana is legally sold in all states and D.C. by 2020, the consolidated market for retail medical and adult use sales could exceed $35 billion.

"Because approximately 55% of the legalized marijuana market is unregulated (and thus controls for the monitoring and reporting of sales activity are at best, minimal) we underscore that a precise full year total is elusive," said Matt Karnes, Founder of GreenWave Advisors, LLC. "However, our proprietary data collection and analysis provides a reasonable basis with which to quantify the U.S. retail marijuana market, particularly in California, which comprises over 40% of the present total market. As data becomes increasingly available, GreenWave Advisors will continue to provide astute investors and other industry observers with institutional quality financial research and analysis," Mr. Karnes added.